Apple is taking gaming on its devices very seriously is seems. It gave a very clear signal of its intent by announcing support for dedicated third-party controllers in iOS. The company held a 45-minute long session at WWDC showing hardware mock-ups and app frameworks.

The session also witnessed the announcement of a collaboration with Logitech and Moga. It was first noted by Czech Apple blog Jablickar. They have already started working on initial hardware designs for the controller. The session is available as a video to all registered Apple developers.

The presentation, titled “Integrating with Game Controller” saw the speaker guiding through the frameworks and preliminary set of guidelines. He also highlighted other tools which can be utilised by developers. Logitech also had a few prototypes to show off.

The company displayed two hardware mock-ups. The first one could connect to an iPhone or an iPod Touch. It had two analog sticks, a D-pad, four action buttons and shoulder triggers. The iPhone was placed inside the controller, giving it a PSP inspired look. It allowed interaction not only through the buttons but also the devices’ touch screens.

The second model was a stand-alone controller. The controller wasn’t attached to the device but communicated with it wirelessly. It could be based on Bluetooth. It retained the controls of the first model. It also had a LED indicator light, much like what is seen in the Dualshock 3 controller of the Playstation 3. This can be utilised in multiplayer games for keeping track of the different controllers.

Apart from that, both controls featured a simple pause button. Pressure-sensitive buttons and thumbsticks without dead-zones will also be present.

Logitech and Moga are two well established companies picked by Apple. Logitech is known for making a variety of gaming based products including keyboards, mice and controller among other things. Moga is enjoying support from a lot of Android based developers like Gameloft, SEGA and Rockstar Games.